Police work the scene in Los Angeles where the mother and son were found dead. (David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News via AP)

(Newser)
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Police investigating the gruesome deaths of two members of a Los Angeles family now believe father Shehada Issa was behind both killings—and they no longer think he killed his son for being gay. Homophobia may have been one factor, investigators say, but the main reason for the shooting appears to have been an attempt to cover up the murder of mother Rabihah Issa, who had been stabbed to death sometime in the 24 hours before the son was shot dead last week. "Dad killed mom and then killed his son to cover it up," Detective John Doerbecker tells the Los Angeles Times. He says investigators have found evidence of animosity between husband and wife, and nothing to back up Issa's claim that he shot his son Amir in self-defense.

Before the latest twist, prosecutors had considered the son's murder a hate crime, saying it was "committed because of the victim's sexual orientation," the Los Angeles Daily News reports. Deputy DA Emily Cole tells the Times that evidence for a hate crime includes statements from Amir's siblings about threats the father had made. "We have enough, obviously, to prove he killed the son, but the motive and the reasoning and everything is very much an ongoing investigation," she says. Issa, 69, is being held without bail and has not yet been charged in the death of his wife. (Weeks before the killings, the son made some bizarre posts on Facebook, including a video of a confrontation with his parents.)

He murdered his son to cover up the murder of his wife? I must be wearing my stupid hat today because that make NO sense to me.

mrEdude

Apr 6, 2016 3:32 PM CDT

Thank god it's not a hate crime. Must be a love crime.

Molly_B

Apr 6, 2016 12:05 PM CDT

I knew it the minute the first story said no knife was found on the scene. Then it only made sense that the father killed the mother, some time before, and then got rid of the knife. It could be that the mother decided to stand up to the father in defense of the son. The father wanted the son dead, anyway, so it made sense to his crazed mind to kill the son and blame the whole thing on him. The only problem was the time of death differences between the mother an son, and the missing knife.